1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for managing devices over a network system. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for remotely managing fibre channel switching devices over a network system.
2. Description of the Related Art
The widespread use of computer network systems has opened new avenues for business level communications and electronic commerce. Organizations are increasingly relying on computer network systems to accomplish various tasks such as mass storage, medical and scientific imaging, multimedia communication, transactional processing, distributed computing and distributed database processing applications. One type of network technology is based on the Fibre Channel family of standards (developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)) which defines a high speed communications interface for the transfer of large amounts of data between a variety of hardware systems such as personal computers, workstations, mainframes, supercomputers, storage devices and servers. Thus, Fibre Channel is an alternative to conventional channel and network connectivity technologies and is used to deliver highspeed and low latency connectivity among many clients.
Since the acceptance of the Fibre Channel interconnect in computing environments, switches are becoming the device of choice for storage and server interconnection. Just like within a network environment, such as a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN), one or more fibre channel switches furnish the backbone for all connected devices in a Storage-Server Area Network (SAN).
One key issue in networking is the ability to manage the network system. Several tools and systems have been developed to manage network devices via a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Small Computer Systems Interface enclosure services (SES), or Telnet. Such methods furnish detailed information on device status, performance levels, configuration and topology changes, and historical data. However, conventional management tools and systems typically use a static page, i.e. text only, to provide information regarding a particular device. While the use of dynamic pages for furnishing device information would be desirable, the use of large scale graphic animation for managing network devices causes xe2x80x9cscreen flickeringxe2x80x9d due to the large amounts of data which need to be redrawn on a display monitor. Additionally, most graphic management tools require separate client software installation because of their platform dependency. Further, most networking management packages do not provide automatic, dynamic device information update.
The World Wide Web (xe2x80x9cWebxe2x80x9d), as well as other wide-area networks (WANs) provide, a rapid, low cost communication mechanism for remotely managing network devices. Ideally, an effective network management system should allow use of WANs to further facilitate the network management process. Moreover, the introduction of Java has made it possible to distribute platform independent executable content over networks thus enabling continuous, real-time interaction with Web pages. Thus, an effective management system should also allow use of Java to improve the network management process.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method for remotely managing a network device such as a fibre channel switch. Moreover, there is a need for a system and method that is platform independent, utilizes dynamic graphical pages which reduce screen flickering, and automatically updates the information furnished to the user.
The present invention overcomes the limitations and shortcomings of the prior art with a system and method for managing a network device. A system and method embodying the principles of the present invention enables a user to remotely manage a device over a network. In a preferred embodiment, the device is a fibre channel switch, and the present invention enables a user to perform administrative functions with respect to the fibre channel switch, such as viewing on a display the fabric topology, the front panel of the switch, individual port and total switch traffic, retrieving information about the switch status and enclosures, and configuring the switch and ports of the switch. Moreover, the present invention is platform independent and enables a user to remotely manage a device using graphical web pages with dynamic status update without screen flickering.
A system embodying the principles of the present invention comprises a data sampling engine, for receiving new data from the device which corresponds to a component module of the device; a model object, coupled to the data sampling engine, for comparing the new data from the device with old data; and a view object, coupled to the model object, for updating the graphical representation of the device corresponding to the component module of the device. In a preferred embodiment, the device is a fibre channel switch and includes four model objects, a SwitchModel, a PortModel, a FanModel, and a ThermoModel for processing and storing data concerning general information about the switch, ports in the switch, fans in the switch, and a thermometer in the switch, respectively. Preferably, the present invention also includes a SwitchView object, three FanView objects, a ThermoView object, 16 PortLEDView objects, 16 PortModelView objects, 8 PortLoopSymbol objects, a PortAlert object, a PortPerformanceView object, and a PortDetailView object, for graphically displaying the corresponding component module and its status on a display.
The present invention also comprises a method for managing a network device. The preferred method for managing a network device comprises the steps of: receiving new device data from the data sampling engine corresponding to information regarding a particular component module of the device; comparing the new device data with a set of old device data, the old device data corresponding to information which was received prior to receiving the new device data and which regards the particular component module of the device; and transmitting a notification signal to the view object.